Asante art and culture in the administration of Asante traditional medicine in the Ashanti Region
No Thumbnail Available
Date
2020-10
Authors
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
KNUST
Abstract
The primary aim of the study was to investigate the role art and culture play in the
administration of traditional medicine in the Ashanti Region of Ghana, and to analyse the
positive aspects of the medicine so as to help erase the negative perception that exists
about it. The primarily intention of the study stems from the fact that art and cultural
activities that serve as a vehicle for curing diseases have almost been completely
overlooked when it comes to the analysis and appreciation of traditional medicine. Even
though the arts and cultural elements are interwoven with the medicine, their linkage have
not been appreciated by a large number of people to the point of even portraying it as evil
or fetish. The qualitative method of collecting and analysing data was utilized. In the
selection process, the respondents were first accessed by the help of the chain method.
They were then purposively sampled and categorised into four different strata due to their
varied characteristics. In all, a sample size of 90 was used for the study. Interviews and
observation were the main data collection instruments used. Results showed that, the art
and cultural elements are indispensable and have great medical ethos relevant to the
medicine. The traditional medication is a doable platform for redeeming people physically,
psychologically and spiritually. The medicine will forever be part and parcel of the people
of Ashanti Region and for that matter Ghanaian healthcare delivery system, since it is
practised in the context of the religion and forms part of the people’s culture. In view of
this, the government and the stakeholders should give recognition to these diviners and
spiritual healers by dedicating special health facilities for them to operate in and providing
them with the necessary needs like what they have been providing for the orthodox health
centres. Moreover, the Ministry of Health with support from government and the
stakeholders should affiliate the traditional numinous centres to the orthodox ones. These
two centres should work hand in hand where spiritual cases which cannot be cured by the
orthodox centres will be referred to the traditional hospital and vice versa.
Description
A thesis submitted to the Department of Educational Innovations in Science and Technology, Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, Kumasi in partial
fulfillment of the requirement for the award of a degree of Doctor of Philosophy in African Art and Culture